. >> if you want to harm rebels in libya or syria, susan rice. >> since you've been covering this so closely, take us through the evolution because president obama and the white house were so defiant. and remember that one press conference where he came out very sternly talking about how much he admired ambassador rice. how did we get to yesterday? was this all from susan rice, or was there a little nudge from the white house as well? >> well, it's unclear as to whether there was a nudge, but certainly she was reading the tea leaves. and it was pretty clear for the last two weeks that the president was not as forceful as he was on that day, november 14th. when john mccain had said very bluntly on the hill, she is not going to get confirmed, and the president then had his first news conference after being re-elected and just came out so strongly, dramatically and emphatically, he was angry, and they're still angry in the white house about the way mccain and company, they think ganged up on her. i was also told that he might not have stuck with her as long as he did but for mccain. he